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Action hero
| The archetypal action hero is the protagonist of an action movie or other entertainment which portrays action and adventure. Other media in which such heroes appear include swashbuckler films, Westerns on television, old-time radio, adventure novels, dime novels, pulp magazines, and folklore. Male action heroes Actors Classic action heroes *Humphrey Bogart *P.Ramlee *Bernard Bonnin *Peter Boyle *Marlon Brando *Charles Bronson *David Carradine *Sean Connery *Douglas Fairbanks *Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. *Errol Flynn *Clark Gable *Eddie Garcia *Andy Griffith *Charlton Heston *Lee Marvin *Roger Moore *Leslie Nielsen *Pete Postlethwaite *Ramon Zamora *Zaldy Zshornack *Steve McQueen *Toshirō Mifune *Paul Newman *Tyrone Power *Andy Poe *Fernando Poe, Jr. *César Ramírez *Basil Rathbone *Christopher Reeve *Ramon Revilla, Sr. *Patrick Swayze *Robert Taylor *John Wayne *Johnny Weissmuller *Vic Vargas *Bruce Lee *Gene Hackman *Adam West New action heroes *Alex O'Loughlin *Michael Fassbender *John Abraham (actor) *Steve Austin *Noah Ringer *Ben Affleck *Casey Affleck *Ryan Agoncillo *Gerald Anderson *Sean Astin *Rowan Atkinson *Mahesh Babu *Abhishek Bachchan *Allu Arjun *Amitabh Bachchan *Kevin Bacon *Simon Baker *Alec Baldwin *Christian Bale *Antonio Banderas *Javier Bardem *Jamie Bell *Tom Berenger *Lucas Black *Orlando Bloom *Matt Bomer *David Boreanaz *Jeff Bridges *Matthew Broderick *Adrien Brody *James Brolin *Josh Brolin *Pierce Brosnan *Edward Burns *Gerard Butler *James Caan *Nicolas Cage *Michael Caine *Jim Caviezel *Henry Cavill *John Cleese *Surya Sivakumar *Jake Cuenca *John Cena *50 Cent *Jackie Chan *Kyle Chandler *Ram Charan Teja *Michael Chiklis *Chiranjeevi *Stephen Chow *Jay Chou *Hayden Christensen *George Clooney *Bradley Cooper *Chris Cooper *Sharlto Copley *Kevin Costner *Randy Couture *Daniel Craig *Bryan Cranston *Terry Crews *Daniel Bernhardt *Gary Daniels *Russell Crowe *Tom Cruise *Ice Cube *John Cusack *Willem Dafoe *Matt Damon *Jeff Daniels *Ted Danson *Jack Davenport *Daniel Day-Lewis *Jeffrey Donovan *Johnny Depp *Matt Dillon *Michael Clarke Duncan *Robert Duvall *Joseph Vijay *John Cho *Mark Dacascos *Patrick Dempsey *Robert de Niro *Leonardo DiCaprio *Vin Diesel *Vincent D'Onofrio *Michael Jai White *Scott Adkins *Michael Douglas *Josh Duhamel *Sanjay Dutt *Clint Eastwood *Aaron Eckhart *Joel Edgerton *Idris Elba *Chris Evans *Rupert Everett *Ejay Falcon *Sean Faris *Colin Farrell *Oded Fehr *Tom Felton *Ralph Fiennes *Morgan Freeman *Ian Somerhalder *Paul Wesley *Luke Goss *Matthew Fox *Jamie Foxx *Mark Anthony Fernandez *Nathan Fillion *Colin Firth *Jon Foo *Harrison Ford *Ben Foster *James Franco *JB Magsaysay *Brendan Fraser *Akshay Kumar *Andrew Garfield *Richard Gere *Paul Giamatti *Mel Gibson *Thomas Gibson *Tyrese Gibson *Danny Glover *Bill Goldberg *Ryan Gosling *Mark-Paul Gosselaar *Topher Grace *Kelsey Grammer *Rupert Grint *Ioan Gruffudd *Richard Gutierrez *Jake Gyllenhaal *Jackie Earle Haley *Jon Hamm *Tom Hanks *Tom Hardy *Woody Harrelson *Ed Harris *Colin Firth *Laurence Fishburne *Ethan Hawke *Garrett Hedlund *Chris Hemsworth *Liam Hemsworth *Tom Hiddleston *Dule Hill *Emile Hirsch *Anthony Hopkins *Danny Huston *Josh Hutcherson *Rhys Ifans *Jeremy Irons *Jeremy Irvine *Tony Jaa *Ted DiBiase, Jr. *Iko Uwais *Shaheizy Sam *Pawan Kalyan *Farid Kamil *Michael Keaton *Irrfan Khan *Zayed Khan *Val Kilmer *Taylor Kitsch *LL Cool J *Hugh Jackman *Quinton Jackson *Samuel L. Jackson *Thomas Jane *Aaron Johnson *Don Johnson *Tommy Lee Jones *Vinnie Jones *Toby Kebbell *Shia Labeouf *Frank Langella *Taylor Lautner *Jude Law *Denis Leary *Heath Ledger *Logan Lerman *Zachary Levi *Joseph Gordon-Levitt *Jet Li *Alexander Ludwig *Dolph Lundgren *Tobey Maguire *Jay Manalo *John Malkovich *Coco Martin *James McAvoy *Matthew McConaughey *Eric McCormack *Ewan McGregor *Ian McKellen *Christopher Meloni *Breckin Meyer *Alfred Molina *Cesar Montano *Viggo Mortensen *Wentworth Miller *Ralf Möller *Neil Nitin Mukesh *Chad Michael Murray *Akkineni Nagarjuna *Liam Neeson *Bill Nighy *Chuck Norris *Edward Norton *Chris O'Donnell *Shaquille O'Neal *Gary Oldman *Clive Owen *Al Pacino *Robin Padilla *Ray Park *Mandy Patinkin *Neil Patrick Harris *Robert Pattinson *Bill Paxton *Guy Pearce *Mario Van Peebles *Simon Pegg *Alex Pettyfer *Chris Pine *Brad Pitt *Jeremy Piven *Bill Pullman *Dennis Quaid *Zachary Quinto *Daniel Radcliffe *Rain *Edgar Ramirez *Jackson Rathbone *Keanu Reeves *Jeremy Renner *Jean Reno *Ving Rhames *Alan Rickman *Josh Ritter *Sam Rockwell *James Roday *Jericho Rosales *Hrithik Roshan *Mickey Rourke *Mark Ruffalo *Geoffrey Rush *Arnold Schwarznegger *Salman Khan *Shahrukh Khan *Austin St. John *The Rock *Liev Schreiber *Akshay Kumar *Tom Selleck *Tony Shalhoub *Charlie Sheen *Martin Sheen *Steven Seagal *Gary Sinise *Tom Sizemore *Christian Slater *Will Smith *Kevin Sorbo *Kevin Spacey *Scott Speedman *Sylvester Stallone *Jason Statham *Ray Stevenson *Jim Sturgess *Donald Sutherland *Kiefer Sutherland *Ice-T *Mr. T *Channing Tatum *Ravi Teja *Billy Bob Thornton *Justin Timberlake *Benicio del Toro *John Travolta *Danny Trejo *Dennis Trillo *Chris Tucker *Karl Urban *Donnie Wahlberg *Mark Wahlberg *Christopher Walken *Paul Walker *Christoph Waltz *Denzel Washington *Sam Waterson *Bruce Willis *Elijah Wood *James Woods *Sam Worthington *Ryan Reynolds *Anton Yelchin *Donnie Yen *Brandon Routh *Eric Bana *Robert Downey Jr *Aarif Rahman *Dan Chupong *Billy Zane Film *Jaka Sembung from ''Jaka Sembung'' series *Aragorn from the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy *Frodo Baggins from the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy *Rocky Balboa from the ''Rocky'' series *James Bond from the ''James Bond'' series *Jason Bourne from the ''Bourne'' series *Sean Boswell from ''The Fast and the Furious'' series *Colonel James Braddock from the ''Missing in Action'' series *Xander Cage from xXx *Harry Callahan from the ''Dirty Harry'' series *James Carter from the ''Rush Hour'' series *Chan Ka-kui from the ''Police Story'' series *Chen Zhen from Fist of Fury *Cheng Chao-an from The Big Boss *Chev Chelios from the ''Crank'' series *John Connor from ''The Terminator'' series *James Dalton from Road House *Dastan from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time *Axel Foley from the ''Beverly Hills Cop'' series *Samwise Gamgee from the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy *Gandalf from the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy *Samuel Gerard from The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals *Ethan Hunt from the ''Mission: Impossible'' series *Billy Jack from the ''Billy Jack'' series *Indiana Jones from the ''Indiana Jones'' series *Obi-Wan Kenobi from the ''Star Wars'' series *Paul Kersey from the ''Death Wish'' series *Lee from Enter the Dragon *Chief Inspector Lee from the ''Rush Hour'' series *Legolas from the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy * Luc Deveraux from the ''Universal Soldier'' series *Mani from Brotherhood of the Wolf *Raj Malhotra from the ''Khiladi'' series * Frank Dux from ''Bloodsport'' *James Marshall from Air Force One *Frank Martin from ''The Transporter'' series *John Matrix from Commando *John McClane from the ''Die Hard'' series *Darren McCord from Sudden Death *Neo from ''The Matrix'' series *Rick O'Connell from ''The Mummy'' series *Brian O'Conner from ''The Fast and the Furious'' series *Snake Plissken from Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. *John Rambo from the ''Rambo'' series *Michael Ransom from Strike Commando and Strike Commando 2 *Raizo from Ninja Assassin *Kyle Reese from ''The Terminator'' series *Axon Rey from Ultimate Force *Richard B. Riddick from ''The Chronicles of Riddick'' series *Martin Riggs from the ''Lethal Weapon'' series *Max Rockatansky from the ''Mad Max'' series *Jack Ryan from The Sum of All Fears, Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games and The Hunt for Red October *Casey Ryback form the ''Under Siege'' series *John Shaft from the ''Shaft'' series *Anakin Skywalker from the ''Star Wars'' series *Luke Skywalker from the ''Star Wars'' series *Jack Slater from Last Action Hero *Kurt Sloane from ''Kickboxer'' *Mr. Smith from Shoot 'Em Up *Han Solo from the ''Star Wars'' series *Jack Sparrow from the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series *Jake Sully from Avatar *Harry Tasker from True Lies *Terminator from ''The Terminator'' series *Dominic Toretto from ''The Fast and the Furious'' series *Takuma Tsurugi from ''The Street Fighter'' series *Will Turner from ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series *Ash Williams from the ''Evil Dead'' series *Napoleon Wilson from Assault on Precinct 13 *Sam Wood from Born to Fight *Andrew Wyatt from When Eagles Strike *Tequila Yuen from Hard Boiled *Don Diego "Zorro" de la Vega from the ''Zorro'' series Television * Samuel Anders from Battlestar Galactica * Captain Apollo from Battlestar Galactica * B. A. Baracus from The A-Team * Jack Bauer from 24 * Mark Benford from FlashForward * Nash Bridges from Nash Bridges * Mitch Buchannon from Baywatch and Baywatch Nights * John Crichton from Farscape * Marcus Cole from Babylon 5 * James "Sonny" Crockett from Miami Vice * Richard Cypher from Legend of the Seeker * Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation * The Doctor from Doctor Who * Mike Donovan from V * James "Sawyer" Ford from Lost * Benton Fraser from Due South * Heny Garvie from Ultimate Force * Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood * Hercules from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys * Horatio Hornblower from ''Hornblower'' * Kenneth Hutchinson from Starsky and Hutch * Sayid Jarrah from Lost * Clark Kent from Smallville * James T. Kirk from Star Trek * Michael Knight from Knight Rider * Sammo Law from ''Martial Law'' * Angus MacGyver from MacGyver * Cameron Mitchell from Stargate SG-1 * Hiro Nakamura from Heroes * Jack O'Neill from Stargate SG-1 * Matt Parkman from Heroes * Peter Petrelli from Heroes * Tom Price from Survivors * Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly and Serenity * William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation * Buck Rogers from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century * Michael Scofield from Prison Break * Richard Sharpe from Sharpe * Jack Shephard from Lost * Lieutenant Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica * David Starsky from Starsky and Hutch * Ham Tyler from V * Cordell Walker from Walker, Texas Ranger * Michael Westen from Burn Notice * Dean Winchester from Supernatural * Sam Winchester from Supernatural * Steve McGarrett from Hawaii Five-0 Video games * Balthier from Final Fantasy XII * Niko Bellic from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Christopher Blair from the ''Wing Commander'' series * Issac Clarke from Dead Space * Toni Cipriani from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Dante from the ''Devil May Cry'' series * Nathan Drake from the ''Uncharted'' series * Captain Falcon from the ''F-Zero'' series * Sam Fisher from the ''Splinter Cell'' series * Gaz from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare * Gordon Freeman from the ''Half-Life'' series * Chris Redfield from the ''Resident Evil'' series * Matt Hazard from Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard * Chris Jacobs from the ''Mercenaries'' series * Jason Hudson from Call of Duty: Black Ops * Avery Johnson from the ''Halo'' series * Carl "CJ" Johnson from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Jin Kazama from the ''Tekken'' series * Leon S. Kennedy from the ''Resident Evil'' series * Kilik from the ''Soul'' series * Johnny Klebitz from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Kratos from the ''God of War'' series * Huang Lee from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Fayt Leingard from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time * Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII * Link from ''The Legend of Zelda'' series * Luis Fernando Lopez from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Master Chief from the ''Halo'' series * John Soap MacTavish from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 * Alex Mason from Call of Duty: Black Ops * Guile from the ''Street Fighter'' series * Edge Maverick from Star Ocean: The Last Hope * Naked Snake from the [[Metal Gear (series)| Metal Gear series]] * Mattias Nilsson from the ''Mercenaries'' series * Point Man from the ''F.E.A.R.'' series * Duke Nukem from the ''Duke Nukem'' series * Max Payne from Max Payne * The Postal Dude from the ''Postal'' series * The Prince from the ''Prince of Persia'' series * John Price from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 *The Nameless Protagonist from the [[Saints Row|''Saints Row series]] * Raiden from the ''Metal Gear'' series * Chris Redfield from the ''Resident Evil'' series * Regret from Zenonia * Reznov from Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops * Tyson Rios from the ''Army of Two'' series * Simon Ghost Riley from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 * Ryu from the ''Street Fighter'' series * Elliot Salem from the ''Army of Two'' series * Siegfried Schtauffen from the ''Soul'' series * Commander Shepard from the ''Mass Effect'' series * Solid Snake from the ''Metal Gear'' series * Sora from the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series * Claude Speed from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Jack Slate from the Dead to Rights series * "Serious" Sam Stone from the ''Serious Sam'' series * Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII * Tidus from Final Fantasy X * Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX * Victor Vance from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Tommy Vercetti from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series * Snow Villiers from Final Fantasy XIII Animation * Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender * Astro Boy from Astro Boy * Ben Tennyson from Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien * Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo from Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo * James Bond, Jr. from James Bond Jr. * Marshall BraveStarr from BraveStarr * Bumblebee from The Transformers * Duke from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero * Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist * Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist * Flint from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero * Gon Freecs from Hunter × Hunter * Rex Salazar from Generator Rex * Goku from Dragon Ball * He-Man from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe * InuYasha from InuYasha * Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach * Jason in Battle of the Planets (equivalent to Joe in Gatchaman) * Lino-O from ThunderCats * Mark in Battle of the Planets (equivalent to Ken in Gatchaman) * Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece * Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail * Captain Planet from Captain Planet and the Planeteers * Optimus Prime from The Transformers * Ranma Saotome from Ranma ½ * Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero * Space Ghost from Space Ghost * Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop * Yusuke Urameshi from YuYu Hakusho * Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto * Ziv "ZZ" Zulander from The Bots Master Literature * d'Artagnan from The Three Musketeers * King Arthur from the Arthurian legend * Judah Ben-Hur from Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ * Beowulf from Beowulf * Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel * Conan the Barbarian from the ''Conan'' series * James Bond from the ''James Bond'' series * Edmond Dantès from The Count of Monte Cristo * Harry Dresden from The Dresden Files * Willie Garvin from Modesty Blaise * Gawain from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight * Frank Hardy from The Hardy Boys * Joe Hardy from The Hardy Boys * Robin Hood, a prominent hero in English folklore * Horatio Hornblower from the ''Hornblower'' series * Odysseus from the Iliad and Odyssey * Dirk Pitt from the ''Dirk Pitt'' series * Doc Savage from the ''Doc Savage'' series'' * The Shadow from ''The Shadow'' series * Richard Sharpe from the ''Sharpe'' series * The Spider from The Spider * Tom Swift * Tom Swift, Jr. * Tarzan from the ''Tarzan'' series * Wilfred of Ivanhoe from Ivanhoe * Don Diego "Zorro" de la Vega from the ''Zorro'' series Further reading *Osgerby, Bill, Anna Gough-Yates, and Marianne Wells. Action TV : Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks. London: Routledge, 2001. *Tasker, Yvonne. Action and Adventure Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2004. Notes External links *Female action heroes photo gallery - The Boston Globe *The Lost Action Hero - The Washington Post Action Category:Heroes by role